I was sixteen the first time I read a book with a character with a disability like mine. Not even a main character—just a character that I could point to and say, he’s like me.

Thirty minutes was enough time to clean the kitchen, change out of her sweats, brush her hair, and apply a pinch of makeup—but it wasn’t enough time to find herself a baby.

I hope my dandruff falls like the heavy dust from a window’s ledge unto your Madewell Sweater. / I hope the greasy shea butter sticks to your fingers while you are too far from a bathroom to wash your hands.

This piece was created in an attempt to articulate the distance created between myself and the self I present to the world.

This world would chew me up and spit me out if I let it / It would quiet me, destroy me / Rob me of my God

On the submission process: Every single no hurts, even the nice ones. Not only because I so badly want someone to say yes, but also because the financial burden of submitting is astronomical for some — especially those of us who are underrepresented voices.